We have a 7 week old german shepherd and she has generally been a great dog so far. The only problem is I work during the day and my wife works 3 nights a week as a nurse. So we don't know what to do with the dog during the day. She's fine in her crate at night but by 7 am she's is ready to be out and she cries the whole time if we put her in there. My wife has to sleep during some days so what should we do?
Those of you that follow the current trend in dog raising are clearly off base which makes it hard to consider your answers. Regardless of the popular opinion, there is still argument as to when the best time to get a puppy is. Many argue that it is more difficult to housebreak a dog at 10-12 weeks. Our vet who has 30 years experience says it is fine. Socializing the dog is key and that needs to be done regardless of the age and can be done regardless of the age.

As for our schedule, it actually works out fine past these beginning weeks. The dog is fine at night as we take it out like anybody else would. My wife has 4 full days off a week which is way more than most and the days that she sleeps she wakes up at 2-3 and I come home for lunch to let the dog out and play with it.

My questions was simply what to do with her for the 4 hours shes alone which compared to other dog owners, probably most of you included, is rather short. I apologize for not being clearer before.

Not have a 7 week old puppy for starts. It should still be with mom. Crating a puppy is fine. It should be not crated when you or your wife is home. the puppy don't understand that your wife works nights and needs to sleep, it gets frustrated because it wants to spend time doing puppy things and it's stuck in a crate for too long. Adopt a older dog next time. Your schedule sounds to irregular for a puppy.

I have a German Shepherd pup(who by the way does great in her crate now, thanks to all that helped), and I was wondering if the notorious GSD stance could be taught or is it something that just comes naturally to them? I see pictures of pups that are weeks old already doing that stance. How can I have my pup stand like that sometimes?
If they are taught, how can I teach mine?

1. you need a lead that is just under his jaw and ears not around his lower neck. you hold the lead straight up so his head and neck are up
2. you need to separate his back legs by tapping them or lightly moving them back so the stance is as you like it
3. always say good dog as you do this. everytime he moves, you move him back and say good dog then maybe give him a bitesize treat.

4. continue this until he starts to do it on his own.

5. don't forget to repeat the name you will use to get him to stand the way you want him to.

link below had e-mail you can ask a pro.

http://www.total-german-shepherd.net Are you eager to learn all about the German Shepherd, but you are currently short on time and money? My ebook covers a lot of information about German Shepherds. In fact, a few of my readers have even called it their "German Shepherd Manual"! Click here to learn more now

Duration : 1 min 13 sec

More on German Shepherd ebook

Tags: German

Your Dog and Training is Easier Than You Think!

Your dog's behavior is a reflection of you

A dog is as good as its owner has taught it.

Family friends of mine have a German Shepherd and as they are an elderly couple they weren't quite so inclined to train their dog when it was young.

After a while of disobedience they decided to take this dog to a dog training school but as would be expected from a dog that has never had any training from a puppy the dog didn't like the training school.

The easy solution was to discontinue the training and hope for the best.

Unfortunately the best will never come from a dog that has not been trained and will not respond to any of their requests.

They were disappointed with their pet and assumed that it was because it had a poor personality.

Little did they know that having spent some time on this dog when it was a puppy would have given them a pet that they would have enjoyed a whole lot more and they would have had an obedient dog that they would have been happy to take anywhere without fear of it running away and causing trouble.

German Shepherds are intelligent dogs and this dog has been quite bored for most of it's life as it hasn't got any purpose in life and will not listen to any commands.

After seeing the dog become somewhat depressed I started to retrain it to improve the life of both the dog and it's owners.

Progress has been very rapid as the dog is happy it has some new challenges and loves the attention and rewards that it gets on a regular basis now.

It is a lot more sociable and is easier to manage when out in public.

The owners are a lot happier and so is the dog.

It just seems a shame that they didn't persevere so much earlier in the dog's life and they all would have enjoyed many more years of fun and entertainment.

Michael Silvester
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/how-to-tame-your-dog-and-training-it-to-perfection-is-easier-than-you-think-116039.html

Moving into my first house. I can now own a dog. I have wanted a German Shepherd since I was a boy. I understand the breed standard for a German Shepherd is 85 pounds. I would like the largest one I could get that is healthy. A friend on my soccer team who is a cop says they have German Shepherds on their department they imported from Czechoslovakia that are 115 pounds. Is that realistic? How big a German Shepherd could I get that was healthy?

A healthy, large-boned male German shepherd can tip the scales at about 110+ pounds, particularly those bred in Germany and other parts of Europe who tend to be larger than American-bred GSDs. In fact, most American bred dogs of any breed tend to be smaller than their European cousins.

There is also a breed of dog that is essentially a giant German shepherd, called a Shiloh Shepherd. Shilohs are not recognized as a breed by the AKC, CKC, or UKC because it is still considered "under construction" as a breed, so to speak. They are however currently being considered for breed recognition by the UKC. There are Shiloh Shepherd breed clubs around the country that you can find if you Google the breed. Shiloh Shepherd females average around 100-120lbs, and males 120-140lbs.

I love German shepherds, and am particularly fond of Shilohs because of their size, amazing temperaments, and generally better hips. I think you're making a great choice for a pet! When you do look into German shepherd breeders in your area, make sure all of the puppies and the parents are hip certified, because hip dysplasia is a big problem in purebred GSDs. Good luck!

Most of my life there was always a German Shepherd in the house.They were my favorite breed and when I bought my own house I swore I would get one. A few months before my wife and I bought our first house I saw a video about the industry of Greyhound racing. It really disturbed me to find out what horrible things happen to these dogs when they are finished racing. I did some follow up research and knew from that day I would always have a retired greyhound in my house.

At the time we lived in New Jersey and found an adoption group called NJGAP. I filled out all of the proper paperwork and adopted the most beautiful red brindle female greyhound I ever saw about two months after we bought the house. At the track they spend most of their time in a small crate so when you adopt one you must have an appropriate sized crate for your dog to move around in. In general they like to sleep in the crate and will just lay in there because this is their safe house and you really should not bother them while they are in there. You can either close the door to the crate or leave it open which depends on your greyhounds personality, the choice will be yours.

They have somewhat sensitive stomachs so you should only feed them the recommended food and treats because they can become ill. We used Pro Plan because it was recommended and it comes in a few different flavors so you can change it up a little. After they eat it is not a good idea to let them run around for about 1 hour due to a condition called bloat. This can happen because they have a large chest cavity and if the gasses build up, their insides can twist and they can die so special attention should be paid here. They are very fast runners so when they are outside you should always keep them on a leash or a completely fenced in area.They absolutely love to lay with you and are described as 45mph couch potatoes and act like they are lap dogs. You can not treat them the same way as a Shepherd or a Lab because they are a little more delicate but make awesome pets.

Our dog was only 2 years old when we got her and regardless of what happened to her at the track she was just full of love and playfulness. When anyone came into the house she would "smile" by raising her upper lip and dance around until you payed attention to her. They are smart, intelligent animals and will use their wit to play and just have fun with you. They are sight hounds and will zero in on a squirrel up to a half mile away and if not on a leash or in a fenced area they run after it.

In the winter when it is cold outside, you must put a coat on your greyhound because they have less than 15% body fat and can freeze to death if left out for a long time. In the summer they can get heat stroke just like people so do not leave them in the heat very long. After about a year we adopted another greyhound which was the most beautiful somewhat rare male blue brindle. Together they would play and brighten up even the worst day and you will almost forget about it and just enjoy the best companion dog in the world.

Marc Dorin
http://www.articlesbase.com/pets-articles/the-care-and-joy-of-owning-a-retired-racing-greyhound-754399.html

I have two beautiful German Shepherds, both 12 years old now, which I brush daily. I enjoy the brushing and love my dogs.

A friend of mine wants to buy a Shepherd and shave him to control shedding. I am really upset with her. Told her that she should not buy a Shepherd if she is going to shave him and that she should consider another breed. She insists that shaving is not only OK but recommended by Vets.

Am I wrong or is she?

You are absolutely right.

Long haired, double coated dogs do not need to be shaved…..ever. Unless the dog has passed the point of no return in the matting department, the best type of grooming for these dogs is a vigorous undercoat raking with a special tool that helps remove the undercoat, a bath, and a blow dry to help separate the hair.

The guard hairs on the top that do not shed out provide protection against the rays of the sun, and actually insulate the dog from the heat. Dogs left with just the undercoat WILL shed. It may shed shorter hair, but it will still shed.

Sometimes the hair will NOT grow back. The older the dog, the less likely the guard hairs will regrow. The undercoat will regrow, but the upper hair sometimes does not.

Skin that is damaged by UV rays that they would not otherwise be exposed to, can take a long time to heal, and the dog may have scaling and dandruff for quite some time after the hair has regrown.

Unless she wants to shave the dog for medical reasons she should consider another breed. GSDs shed. That's something that needs to be considered and accepted. In my opinion the cons far outnumber the pros.

around how many months will my german shepherd start to urintae with his leg up… his currently 9 weeks old.

I'm not sure exactly how long it takes. I know every dog is different but it will happen. I use to wonder the same thing. Its like a proud papa waiting for there son to show his man hood. Dont worry it happen. Then you have to deal with him tagging everything in the house.

I have a german shepherd who has just turned 6 months and I would like to train him as a protection dog. I live in London, England so if you know of anywhere or anyone who trains dog in protection I would be very grateful.

hahaha, protection dog are you going to be a drug dealer when your older that you need a protection dog,,

if you gsd loves you and you get into trouble when your walking him, he will protect you even without going into this silly protection classes, (never heard of them before)

but if your going to use the dog for protecting a premises you will need a special license and proper training

In the neighborhood i live in there is always a possibility of people trying to enter my home. I have a one year 9 month old German Shepherd and want him to be more aggressive towards strangers.What do i do?

the only german shepard that should be people aggressive is a police dog trained by a Professional to stop criminals in there tracks